I'm writing this article because one of the most asked questions we get at ContentNow.co.uk is "can you help us get our site listed in Google News". The answer is yes, in fact we launched our News product recently for that specific purpose. However, whether you write your own content, have in-house content writers or outsource your content to a company like ours I hope you find the following article of use. As I get asked about Google News so often I thought it would be a good idea to share my experiences. So first of all...
What is Google News?
In their own words, Google News is "aggregated headlines and a search engine of many of the world's news sources". So to put it simply it's a massive online resource of "news" items taken from all over the world and covering many different sectors.
What are the benefits of appearing in Google News?
1. Your site will be seen as an "authority" on your subject. The very fact that is is featured in Google News implies authority as in "it must be a trustworthy source if Google deem it to be so". This alone can be invaluable.
2. Backlinks - as you are an authority you will find other websites and news aggregators also linking to you and quoting your site in their articles. These links can come from other trusted sites and are very valuable in terms of search engine equity.
3. More traffic/visitors - your site will be exposed to a whole new audience, the tens of millions of people that visit Google News every week. So make sure you not only write frequently but make sure your content is interesting to stand out in the crowd and also to ensure repeat visitors.
How do I make sure my site adheres to Google News guidelines?
A lot of people think that there are stringent guidelines that you have to adhere to in order to get into Google News. This isn't the case, although there are some technical guidelines there isn't anything that you shouldn't already be doing as best practice anyway. Other than that there are 3 main rules that I would stick to in order to ensure that you get into Google News.
1. Word Count: Ensure that you news articles are a minimum of 250 words each, ideally 300. Now before people comment saying that they have seen sites in Google News that are 200 words and less, yes so have I. But we have anecdotal evidence that news articles of around the 300 word mark have a better chance of getting in. Google won't confirm or deny this but we have had some clients at Content Now who have tried and failed to get into Google News but upon securing our services and producing news articles of this length, have started to appear.
2. Frequency: Personally speaking I would aim to publish at least 1 news article per day to your site. More if you can manage it. Obviously the more you publish the more frequently the Googlebot will come to visit and the more often your items will be featured in Google News and you will benefit from increased traffic as a result.
3. Write for people, not search engines: Don't use one of those horrible content bot services that churn out lots of so called "unique" content for your site. They *may* fool the search engines for a little while but they will not fool your visitors. Don't try to stuff your content with keywords and write to keyword densities etc. Instead write engaging content that humans will enjoy. This will ensure that you get visitors coming back to your site and if you have comments open or forums then they are more likely to engage with you and eventually become a loyal member of your community. As well as "news" pieces try to write opinion pieces or humorous pieces too. All of which will make your site stand out of the crowd.
What is the difference between traditional content and news?
News content should be much in tune with what's currently happening in your sector. For example, we have a client active in the stocks and shares market, SharePrices.com who have just successfully been included in Google News. We provide the site with twice daily news items that relate specifically to the UK shares, stocks and investments markets. The articles focus on the stockmarket in general and news as to why a particular company has suddenly proved popular/unpopular. Just like this and this both published yesterday.
Alternatively news could come in the shape of a new product review for something just announced/released. Maybe a review of the forthcoming Apple iPad or a new video game. It's also possible to get really good coverage from other sites if you include videos in your news items. For example, Recombu (not a ContentNow client) did this excellent piece on the new HTC Desire, it was picked up (via Google News) from leading authority on all things tech, Gizmodo. By creating innovative and engaging content, Recombu have firmly established themselves as a major authority in their field, so much so that the main players in online tech are now quoting them regularly in their articles.
How many writers do I need in order to qualify for Google News?
I don't remember where I read it but I do remember a Google News representative being quoted somewhere as saying that "multiple" authors were needed in order to qualify. This would seem to be backed up by the Google News submission page that asks for a link to a "list of authors and editors available on your site". So a page like this one from SharePrices.com is a must. It would seem that Google News are looking for a clear organisational structure with multiple editors and authors, so it's important to have this in place before submitting our site.
When should I submit my site to Google News?
Again there is no hard and fast rule for this. Personally I would wait until I had been up and running and producing quality news content on a daily basis for 2 to 3 months before applying. This will prove to Google that you have a track record and hopefully improve your chances of submission. A site with no history and no historical news content will almost certainly be rejected.
Overall, if you ensure that you're writing good quality original content daily that isn't copied from other sources then getting into Google News isn't too difficult. The hardest part is maintaining the frequency and of course coming up with original content on a daily basis. And that's why I set up ContentNow.co.uk, as I myself struggled with this and used to spend too much time writing content when I should have been looking at the bigger picture. Writing quality content is really time consuming, if you're lucky enough to have in house content writers then perfect. If not then an outside provider such as ourselves may just be able to help :)
If anybody has any questions then I would be happy to answer them in the comments. Likewise, please feel free to share your experiences with Google News.
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Getting your site featured in Google News – with case studies
32 Responses to Getting your site featured in Google News – with case studies
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Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I am the founder of ShareMyPlaylists.com, ContentNow.co.uk and some other stuff. I have no idea why I'm blue on this photo though but I like it!
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Thanks for the info, worth a lot to me will submit to Google news in after a frew months of building…
Useful and interesting article. My experience of Google News was based on seeing other blogs of the same subject in the feeds. When we submitted though we were told “no promotional type content allowed”… which didn’t make sense as it was in there.
So it seems to be that once you’re in you can bend the rules, and also you sometimes have to bend the rules to get in. Many sites I’ve seen don’t have multiple writers (perhaps one or two) but you’d think they employ the Sky News Team – but there’s no way for Google to really know that.
For another blog, which is providing news/commentary, but only actually requires one writer we weren’t accepted either. We explained that to them but no cigars.
That all said all the dealings I had from the team at GN were constructive and responsive.
So yeah great if you can get into Google News but be prepared for disappointments and frustrations – especially if your competitors are in and you’re not.
Hey Kieran, great article! Very useful indeed…
Just to clarify one point: the contributors listed on the page you linked to on Shareprices.com: are they the Contentnow writers who provide the news articles?
Hi Stephen – in many cases the writers will have a pen name to protect their privacy but these are very much real individuals who are members of our UK writing team and the biographies are an accurate reflection of their skills and experience.
Right, makes sense! Sorry, didn’t mean to imply any impropriety, was genuinely confused as to how it worked! Basically I would like to use ContentNow for one or two of my sites and was trying to work out if I could also list the ContentNow writers as my editorial team. Obviously other news sites like the newspaper sites, BBC etc use freelance and outside contributors, probably also with pen names, so nothing wrong there.
do you know if it’s possible to resubmit and get approved (for those of us who applied without knowing the multiple author rule)?
Hi Jeff, yes it is. We have clients who have done exactly that and provided they meet the current criteria of a News supplier they have gotten in. Worth leaving 2 or 3 months inbetween submissions though.
When I was approved into Google News, it was 5-6 authors but I can’t say what it is now.
Hey Kieron, thanks for the useful article.
Spotted a couple of small typos in the first paragraph, (feel free to delete my comment once you’ve read it)
(in-house)
also the URL ContenNow.co.uk in the paragraph towards the end
Good spot thanks, do you want a job as a proof reader?
Interesting article.Getting an article in to Google News would be a real boost to website traffic and sales over time.Thanks for the tips, I will look into this.
Good read Kieron. I’m certainly going to make getting into Google News an future objective starting with trying out your ContentNow service.
3 main points to get listed in Google news:
Your URL’s need to have 3 unique numbers.
You need to have a contact page/author page showing a list of your content writers, preferably with contact email.
Your news content can not be promotions or offers, it needs to be news worthy stories.
Hiya Rob, and thank you for your clarification on this particular issue. Google News definitely offers some good value in the quest to establish authority for your online offerings.
Well I must admit to not knowing this information, so my next step is to tackle google news.
Thanks for the info.
Hi Rob or anyone, could you emphasis on your first point please “Your URL’s need to have 3 unique numbers” i dont get it.
Excellent article Kieron.
Robs point about the url requirement caught me out at first. I reapplied and got in.
If you have a news sitemap set up to their terms you don’t have to have the 3 unique digits in the url.
Thanks for sharing. I was not aware of all of Google’s guidelines to making their news page. Keep us the good work of keeping us informed!
Yes.. It’s easy for getting on Google News but I don’t think its beneficial for retail websites. These site will not have anything like news.
Nice information! I have seen many blogs related to Google, Google news and others, but your article’s information is completely different than others. I will share this info with my cousin. He is always looking for this kind of information and share with me. But now this time I will share! Thanks for this information.
Not anybody is going to get on here, but it seems like making the effort is really worth the reward. Something new to try in the old web marketing strategy….
Interesting article, Kieron.One of these days I’ll take the plunge into Content Now, but unfortunately need to be earning a bit more from my sites to justify it
Thanks for sharing your thoughts to us…
I had never considered Google News before… This is a great post.
Thanks for all of the information I will be acting on it straight away.
Those are some great tips for getting featured in Google News. Also be sure to do your keyword research & use your release not only for traffic & publicity but to build your backlinks too.
Till then,
Jean
Your site must have an great authority to published your articles on the news section of Google.
Just a quick follow up to this, I’ve had one site I’ve been trying for years to get into Google news with no luck…until today!
I’ve made sure that all news articles for the past few weeks have been over 300 words as you hinted at here Kieron (they usually ranged from between 150-300 words) and low and behold today I get the email saying the site is to be included!
This is some good advice. I’m going to have to try this on my own site to see if I can get it in Google News. It seems like that would bring in a good bit of traffic, as you said.
Congrats on getting into Google News Wardy, unfortunately for me it is likely too daunting of a task for me to get onto Google News, hehe.
I´ve just applied for a client and I match the criteria. What´s the typical response time from Google News? hours/days /weeks ?
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